Hurricanes blow Force away with first-half stunner

Chase Tiatia goes over for a try in Western Force's hammering by the Hurricanes. (Richard Wainwright/AAP PHOTOS)

The Western Force have been made to pay dearly for a woeful first half in a 44-14 Super Rugby Pacific loss to the Hurricanes at Perth's HBF Park. 

The New Zealand side shot out to a 22-0 lead by halftime in Friday night's match, and they were able to overcome a Force fightback to secure the bonus-point win.

The Force's starting XV featured a total of six club debutants, led by Wallabies halves duo Nic White and Ben Donaldson.

But star Wallabies lock Izack Rodda missed the match after injuring his quad at training on Wednesday.

The Force were their own worst enemies in a one-sided first half in front of 7855 fans.

By the 20-minute mark, the Force were already on the wrong end of a 5-1 penalty count, with a number of handling errors also proving to be their downfall.

Winger Harry Potter was handed a yellow card in the third minute for accidentally taking out Ruben Love while the Hurricanes fullback was airborne.

The Wellington-based Hurricanes scored the opening try of the match six minutes later when Jordie Barrett's precise kick was caught by winger Josh Moorby, who shook off Max Burey to touch down in the corner.

A bullocking run from Love in the 21st minute set up Hurricanes debutant Jordi Viljoen for his team's second.

Alarm bells were ringing in the 37th minute when Hurricanes lock Caleb Delany was able to pick up the ball from a ruck and cross over untouched.

The Hurricanes also displayed determination in defence, holding the Force up multiple times after the half-time siren despite outside centre Billy Proctor being yellow carded. 

The Force had 15 missed tackles in the first half, compared to the Hurricanes' two.

But Simon Cron's men came out with renewed vigour in the second half in an attempt to reel in the deficit.

A powerful run from Potter with two defenders hanging off him eventually resulted in a White try in the 45th minute.

Force winger Chase Tiatia then pulled off a try-saving ankle tap to deny Josh Moorby as he was weaving his way to the line.

Force prop Marley Pearce was yellow carded for a dangerous tackle in which he clashed heads with Barrett, with the Hurricanes scoring via Asafo Aumua a short time later.

Pearce suffered a broken nose in the incident.

Despite the numerical disadvantage, the Force kept pushing, and were rewarded when they swung it wide for Tiatia to zoom over to make it 29-14 in the 57th minute.

It would prove to be the Force's last joy of the match, with the Hurricanes running in their fifth and sixth tries to secure the bonus-point victory.

The Force's line-out fell to bits in the latter part of the match, with a host of other unforced errors allowing the Hurricanes to finish with six tries. 

"Early on we got a yellow card and we panicked a bit," Cron said.

"Second half I thought the boys started really well, got to within 14 points, we were getting across the gain line.

"But as you saw in our last 20 minutes, we've got to be stronger when we roll on those boys at set-piece time. We gave away a lot in the last 20."

License this article

What is AAPNews?

For the first time, Australian Associated Press is delivering news straight to the consumer.

No ads. No spin. News straight-up.

Not only do you get to enjoy high-quality news delivered straight to your desktop or device, you do so in the knowledge you are supporting media diversity in Australia.

AAP Is Australia’s only independent newswire service, free from political and commercial influence, producing fact-based public interest journalism across a range of topics including politics, courts, sport, finance and entertainment.

What is AAPNews?
The Morning Wire

Wake up to AAPNews’ morning news bulletin delivered straight to your inbox or mobile device, bringing you up to speed with all that has happened overnight at home and abroad, as well as setting you up what the day has in store.

AAPNews Morning Wire
AAPNews Breaking News
Breaking News

Be the first to know when major breaking news happens.


Notifications will be sent to your device whenever a big story breaks, ensuring you are never in the dark when the talking points happen.

Focused Content

Enjoy the best of AAP’s specialised Topics in Focus. AAP has reporters dedicated to bringing you hard news and feature content across a range of specialised topics including Environment, Agriculture, Future Economies, Arts and Refugee Issues.

AAPNews Focussed Content
Subscription Plans

Choose the plan that best fits your needs. AAPNews offers two basic subscriptions, all billed monthly.

Once you sign up, you will have seven days to test out the service before being billed.

AAPNews Full Access Plan
Full Access
AU$10
  • Enjoy all that AAPNews has to offer
  • Access to breaking news notifications and bulletins
  • Includes access to all AAPNews’ specialised topics
Join Now
AAPNews Student Access Plan
Student Access
AU$5
  • Gain access via a verified student email account
  • Enjoy all the benefits of the ‘Full Access’ plan at a reduced rate
  • Subscription renews each month
Join Now
AAPNews Annual Access Plan
Annual Access
AU$99
  • All the benefits of the 'Full Access' subscription at a discounted rate
  • Subscription automatically renews after 12 months
Join Now

AAPNews also offers enterprise deals for businesses so you can provide an AAPNews account for your team, organisation or customers. Click here to contact AAP to sign-up your business today.

SEVEN DAYS FREE
Download the app
Download AAPNews on the App StoreDownload AAPNews on the Google Play Store